Pressure on All Blacks

Rob Andrew insists there is still time for England to claw back the ground surrendered since their World Cup triumph - with victory over "pretenders" to the throne New Zealand starting the healing process.

Rob Andrew insists there is still time for England to claw back the ground surrendered since their World Cup triumph - with victory over "pretenders" to the throne New Zealand starting the healing process.

England's post-2003 slump could plumb fresh depths at Twickenham tomorrow as defeat against Graham Henry's top-ranked side would bring a sixth successive loss, their worst run for 34 years.

They have endured the most dramatic collapse in form of any World Cup-winning nation and further misery during the November internationals could spell the end for head coach Andy Robinson.

But Andrew, the Rugby Football Union's director of elite rugby, will send his troops out to battle with the reminder of their world-champion status ringing in their ears.

And the former England fly-half has cranked up the tension for New Zealand by declaring the All Blacks are under "enormous" pressure to deliver.

"I believe it's possible to retrieve the ground we've lost since the World Cup. We can only really judge our progress by the end of the Six Nations," he said.

"We should not get too carried away by Sunday at this point in time. But it is a massive, massive one-off game which couldn't possibly be any bigger.

"Let's not forget England are world champions and are playing a team who feel they are the pretenders to that title. New Zealand are under enormous pressure.

"They see this as a road test for the World Cup. They have been the outstanding side for the last two years. There's enormous expectation on the All Blacks and they have to deal with that pressure.

"They are under more pressure than us. We know we have to improve but also know we have the talent. A little bit of luck injury-wise would help, too."

"We want to see all the qualities that we expect from an England side in terms of set-piece and winning the ball," he added.